Underworld: The Mysterious Origins of Civilization » (Reprint)

Graham Hancock is the author of a number of bestselling investigations of historical mysteries. These include The Sign and the Seal, The Message of the Sphinx, Fingerprints of the Gods, Heaven’s Mirror, and The Mars Mystery. His books have been translated into twenty languages and have sold more than four million copies around the world. He lives in Devon, England.

What secrets lie beneath the deep blue sea? Underworld takes you on a remarkable journey to the bottom of the ocean in a thrilling hunt for ancient ruins that have never been found—until now.

In this explosive new work of archaeological detection, bestselling author and renowned explorer Graham Hancock embarks on a captivating underwater voyage to find the ruins of a mythical lost civilization hidden for thousands of years beneath the world’s oceans. Guided by cutting-edge science, innovative computer-mapping techniques, and the latest archaeological scholarship, Hancock examines the mystery at the end of the last Ice Age and delivers astonishing revelations that challenge our long-held views about the existence of a sunken universe built on the ocean floor.

Filled with exhilarating accounts of his own participation in dives off the coast of Japan, as well as in the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, and the Arabian Sea, we watch as Hancock discovers underwater ruins exactly where the ancient myths say they should be—submerged kingdoms that archaeologists never thought existed. You will be captivated by Underworld, a provocative book that is both a compelling piece of hard evidence for a fascinating forgotten episode in human history and a completely new explanation for the origins of civilization as we know it.

Publishers Weekly

Already a huge success in England, this lengthy and at times quite academic study extends the basic argument of Hancock's 1994 Fingerprints of the Gods, a wild combination of astronomy, archeology, geology and folk myth whose worldwide success made Hancock perhaps the most popular proponent of "alternative history" as well as a publishing phenomenon. Hancock's basic thesis is simple: although mainstream scholars refuse to believe it, there once was "a lost civilization destroyed in the cataclysmic global floods that brought the last Ice Age to an end," and the survivors passed on their knowledge to the newer ancient civilizations with which we are more familiar. The search for an "Indian Atlantis" is the basis for this book, which is structured around Hancock's exploration of underwater sites near India, Japan, Taiwan and China, and in the Arabian and Mediterranean Seas. As usual, Hancock wonderfully introduces the general reader to Indian and Japanese subcultures; however, his reliance primarily on works by local alternative historians many of whose views have been clearly refuted by other scientists while ignoring almost anything that refutes his own thesis undercuts his credibility. In his effort to present his step-by-step discoveries in the style of a "whodunit," Hancock remains an entertaining writer and an interesting cultural journalist. But while the exploration of undersea prehistoric sites is a fascinating and ongoing research area, and Hancock's main contribution to the subject his theories continues to make him a successful writer, his works have been relegated to marginalia. (Nov.) Forecast: Hancock's highly controversial view of history and his theories about "lost civilizations" have gained him an audience that will not be disappointed by Underworld. However, this will not convert the unconverted. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Acknowledgements

PART ONE: Initiation
1. Relics
2. The Riddle of the Antediluvian Cities
3. Meltdown

PART TWO: India (1)
4. Forgotten Cities, Ancient Texts and an Indian Atlantis
5. Pilgrimage to India
6. The Place of the Ship's Descent
7. Lost India
8. The Demon on the Mountain and the Rebirth of Civilization

PART THREE: India (2)
9. Fairytale Kingdom
10. The Mystery of the Red Hill
11. The Quest for Kumari Kandam
12. The Hidden Years
13. Pyramid Islands
14. Ghosts in the Water

PART FOUR: Malta
15. Smoke and Fire in Malta
16. Cave of Bones
17. The Thorn in the Flesh
18. The Masque of the Green Book
19. Inundation
20. The Morning of the World

PART FIVE: Ancient Maps
21. Terra Incognita
22. The Secret Memories of Maps
23. Looking for the Lost on the Road to Nowhere
24. The Metamorphoses of Antilia

PART SIX: Japan, Taiwan, China
25. The Land Beloved of the Gods
26. Remembrance
27. Confronting Yonaguni
28. Maps of Japan and Taiwan 13,000 Years Ago?
29. Confronting Kerama
30. The Shark at the Gate

Postscript 1 -- The Underworld in the Gulf of Cambay
Postscript 2 -- The Underworld in the Bay of Bengal
Appendix 1 -- Report on the Completion of the Joint SES/NIO Expedition to South-east India
Appendix 2 -- SES Press Release, 5 April 2002, Announcing the Discovery of Underwater Ruins at Mahabalipuram and Inviting Media to a Press Reception, 10 April 2002
Appendix 3 -- Preliminary Underwater Archaeological Explorations off Mahabalipuram. Statementby National Institute of Oceanography, 9 April 2002
Appendix 4 -- Comments by Graham Hancock on the NIO Statement of 9 April 2002 Regarding Preliminary Underwater Archaeological Explorations off Mahabalipuram
Appendix 5 -- Who Discovered the Underwater Ruins at Mahabalipuram? And Who is Claiming What?
Appendix 6 -- UK Press Coverage of Mahabalipuram Discovery, April 2002
Appendix 7 -- Press Report on Paulina Zelitsky's Explorations in Cuba
Appendix 8 -- Press Report from Times of India, 6 July 2002
Online Appendices and Photographs
Notes
Index